WALLA WALLA, Wash. -- Whitman's Alex Graves, the only player to average more than four kills per game during the Northwest Conference season, has been voted by coaches to the All-NWC Second Team for a second straight season.

Alex Graves

Graves, a senior captain and outside hitter, was the only player in the NWC who ranked among the conference leaders (top 10) this fall in kills, digs and service aces.

For the season as a whole, Graves averaged 3.61 kills per game, which was second only to Pacific's Alexa Block (3.64 kpg). In statistics for conference matches only, Graves slammed an NWC-leading 4.02 kills per game; Block was second at 3.72.

Courtney Brewer

In other season-long statistics, Graves was seventh in digs, averaging 4.02 per game, and 10th in service aces at 0.31 per game.

Graves finished her career with a flourish last Saturday, hitting .467 with 17 kills in a three-game sweep of Pacific in the season finale for both schools.

Graves, a four-year starter and two-time team captain, amassed impressive career numbers despite missing or playing limited minutes in 10 matches as a sophomore due to injury. Her career numbers that include 947 kills, 1,125 digs and 113 service
aces.

Katie Richards

She reached double digits in both kills and digs in 35 matche sover the past two seasons.

Graves had a career-high 31 digs in a
match earlier this fall, and she combined a career-high 24 kills with
18 digs in one match during her junior campaign. As a sophomore, she
had seven aces in one match alone.

Katie Miller

Graves was the only Whitman player to be named to All-NWC first or second teams, or to receive honorable mention recognition, although first-year middle blocker Courtney Brewer hit .283 on the season to lead the conference.

Brewer, who averaged 2.44 kills per game, hit .295 in conference matches, and she collected 0.78 blocks per conference game, the 10th-best mark in the NWC.

Whitman's Katie Miller and Katie Richards ranked among the conference leaders in other statistical categories.

Miller, a sophomore, served 37 aces in 84 game to lead the NWC with a 0.44 average. Richards, a junior, was fourth in the conference in assists, averaging 9.16 per game (9.88 vs. NWC opponents).